Five difficult years looking for acting jobs in the entertainment capital of the world have given Dominic Graves little to show for his efforts. He’s got the right look, but success in early 90s Los Angeles demands more than an impressive physique and a dazzling smile. Dominic quickly learns that his path to stardom will not be quick, painless, or easy on his ego. So it’s no wonder he signed on with a brute of a talent agent and has accepted demeaning roles that barely fill out his resume. When his agent calls with a job offer, acting as the leading man in a feature-length film, Dominic’s need for a paycheck pushes back against hesitations over a tired plot, questionable working conditions, or his fellow actors. And this is no Hollywood special-effects extravaganza. The movie, A Bullet for Silver Face, is an action-first, no-frills flick filmed in Uruguay’s capital city, Montevideo. Still, a decent salary and the potential name recognition send Dominic straight to South America. Filming gets off to a rocky start, and conditions only get worse from there. The director is a thug, his leading lady is petulant, and his co-stars have no problem getting extremely physical on set. Even if Dominic survives everything the Uruguayan film industry throws at him, ladies, liquor, and laziness could still spell the end of his career. To shine as a hero in this story, he’ll have to deliver the performance of a lifetime.
Toxic relationships and self-destructive behaviors contend for the starring role in When The Actor Inspired Chaos and Bloodshed. With a steady hand, author Nicholas Litchfield peels back the curtain on cinematic glamour to reveal a gritty, behind-the-scenes look at the blood, sweat, and tears involved in making a movie that was doomed from inception. With his erratic choices, poor judgment, and constant need for external validation, Dominic embodies the quintessential Hollywood actor. His co-star, a woman who makes herself at home on the casting couch, is similarly needy and injects even more tension into an already tightly wound narrative. While the book lacks a sympathetic protagonist, or essentially any likable characters, the lifelike scenes unfold with such intensity and pulse-pounding momentum that the story feels like it is playing out on a giant movie screen before your eyes. Boasting a plot that is daring and unpredictable, When The Actor Inspired Chaos and Bloodshed defies convention, takes bold risks, and entertains from pulpy start to finish.
